Ellie Goulding, best known for her hit single “Lights” which has been sampled and remixed more times than anyone can count, teamed up with her buddy Xaphoon Jones of Chiddy Bang for an insane cover of The Weeknd‘s “High For This”. I realize that’s a lot to consider in one short sentence so I’ll try and sum it up more clearly: Ellie Goulding + Xaphoon Jones + The Weeknd. One track. Yes.

The pop starlet’s voice meshes perfectly with Xaphoon’s light, twinkling sound to create a cover that actually does justice to Abel’s original version, something that’s arguably very hard to do. You can check it out below or on Ellie’s Soundcloud page here.

LITS Mix is a weekly mix of five free songs curated by our ears with your ears in mind. With so much free music to listen to out there, we intend to showcase our favorite tunes in an easily digestible manner, guiding you through the riff-raff to find the music. This week, we present the second edition of our mix, a 20 minute set of songs that’ll have you nodding along whether it’s the chilled-out vibe of Tycho’s “A Walk” or the thumping bass on Y Luv’s “Earthquakes”. Kick back and get lost in the sound.

The Weeknd brought out his OVOXO mentor Drake last night while performing at LA’s Hollywood Forever Cemetery. After finishing his first verse on Take Care‘s “Crew Love”, Abel turned to the side and as the crowd suddenly realized what was happening, Drake appeared to finish the song. The two then went on to play Thursday‘s “The Zone”. You can watch a fan-shot, iPhone littered recording of the performance below.

Just a few hours ago, The Weeknd took the stage for the first time in the US to perform a 51-minute set at Coachella. Although he’s played a few shows in Canada and has a tour scheduled later this year, Abel sounded a bit nervous as he performed songs off of his trio of mixtapes House of Balloons, Thursday, and Echoes of Silence, as well as “Crew Love”, his hit with fellow OVOXO memberDrake. Normally a very smooth yet mysterious singer, Abel seemed slightly out of place in the bright Californian sun as he missed a few of his higher notes. Below, you can watch the entire set recorded and uploaded by Yardie. More of our Coachella coverage can be seen here.

Head over to The Weeknd‘s website or this direct link to download his new highly anticipated mixtape Echoes of Silence. This is the third mixtape R&B singer Abel Tesfaye has released this year, following the critically acclaimed House of Balloons and Thursday. Tesfaye has also recently appeared on his fellow Canadian comrade Drake’s new album Take Care. Two choice cuts (the latter of which is produced by Clams Casino) are included below.

When Drake‘s sophomore record Take Care leaked a few days ago, one of the most talked about tracks was unfortunately not included in that version. That track, “The Ride” actually serves as the album’s closing track and features vocals from Drizzy’s good friend and fellow Toronto native, The Weeknd. Featuring production by Jamie xx, “The Ride” is almost 6 minutes long and features Drake dropping a number of great verses, slow falsettos from Abel, and solid production from Jamie xx. It’s a great combination that not only sounds good on paper, but is also actually even better when it reaches your ears.

Check it out below in all its glory and be sure to purchase Take Care once it is officially released on November 15th.

Drake‘s highly-anticipated sophomore effort, Take Care, now has a confirmed tracklisting courtesy of the Microsoft Zune market. The album will be out on November 15th via Young Money, following a delay caused by sample-clearing issues.

“Headlines”, “Marvin’s Room”, the Nicki Minaj featuring “Make Me Proud”, and the final version of “The Real Her” with an additional verse from Andre 3000 will all be included on the album, while “Dreams Money Can Buy” is not included. Additional guest spots include OVOXO’s The Weeknd, Rihanna, and Rick Ross.

Today is Halloween and today’s the perfect day to celebrate. I put together a mix of songs that in my opinion would be great to listen to during Halloween. None of them are actually directly related to Halloween in any way, but I think they have a very suitable vibe. The playlist this week isn’t really focused on any specific genre, but the first half of the playlist is rap and the 2nd half is a mix of dubstep, folk, and R&B music. The last song is “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” by Sufjan Stevens and if you’re at all familiar with the song, you’d think it wouldn’t fit in this playlist, but I think that it’s a perfect ending to this week’s mix.

With each release from the mysterious Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, a new side of the talented R&B singer emerges. The latest leak from Abel and supposedly the first track from his third mixtape Echoes of Silence is “Initiation”, released on Abel’s Tumblr page. On the track, the singer experiments with a number of different, warped vocal styles. Even so, the track is distinctly The Weeknd-sounding, including the obligatory repeated OVOXO outro.